Most of us have low wattage on the visibility spectrum. We are unknown outside of a small network of friends and professional contacts. We are not bold-faced names.

But visibility and its companion, fame, are things you should think about if you’re ambitious. We’re talking of fame on some level – it could be in your industry, or your company or the world.

We’re talking, most importantly, about being famous for something that’s special and different from others and is appealing to your target audience.

Taylor Swift is a wonderful case study in how smart brand building is done. Recently she was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year. She is now becoming a case-study in college MBA programs. Her Eras tour keeps breaking box office records and stimulating the local economies where it’s held. Government leaders are approaching her to perform in their counties.

She wasn’t just a dreamer of stardom when she was a young girl. She had talent as a singer and as a storyteller and the persistence to keep evolving through all her “eras.”

Her sweet spot as a singer: the angst of girls as they transition from girlhood to womanhood.

She internalizes the pain and turns it into music. The stories, the emotions she evokes are universal. Being authentic made her famous.

Why should how you look make a difference in getting the job? As superficial as it may seem, looking the part does matter according to a new study by the Harvard Business School.

The HBS study analyzed 63,000 job openings and 160,000 freelance job seekers applying for those jobs. Certain accessories and physical features gave freelancers an edge, more than gender, age and ethnic background.

Here are 3 tips for job seekers looking for an edge:

1. Pay attention to the details: For your profile shot, forget the snaps with your dog or kids and chose a neutral background.

2. Choose accessories that telegraph visually a career fit: Recruiters favored certain looks. Having a computer visible and wearing glasses gave job hunters an edge in computer software programming jobs. People exploring design or media-related jobs did better – surprise – when they had a stylish “artistic” look often with fashionable glasses.

3. Having good references seals the deal: Success wasn’t just about looking the part. Having good references from your previous job along with looking the part was a game changer, often resulting in a 5 percent salary increase according to the HBS researchers.
#jobseekers, #lookingthepart

https://www.asbn.com/small-business-shows/atlanta-small-business-show/three-tips-for-building-a-robust-personal-brand-cathrine-kaputa/

To compete in today’s new world of work with hybrid, remote and in-person working, and AI beckoning, it pays to learn about personal branding. Branding is all about being recognized as someone who adds value to a business or career situation.Here are 3 tips:

1. Have a focused brand identity. Remember the Law of Singularity in branding. Being a Jack or Jill of all trades is no where’s ville in branding. If you can’t articulate your value in 10 words or less, go back to the drawing board.

2. Be different. Most people have a me-too brand that’s generic and something you’ve heard dozens of times before. You’ll always be perceived as second rate if you take that approach.

3. Be relevant. We live in a dynamic world and you need to keep up with what’s taking place and solve a problem that’s important today, not yesterday’s needs.

To learn more, click the link above to check out my interview on ASBN, America’s Small Business Network.
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Many successful people have traits in common as Barbra Streisand points out in her new memoir, “My Name is Barbra.” Weighing in at 1000 pages, it’s full of tips and hefty enough to be part of your exercise program.

Here are 3 take-aways from the book:

• See yourself as a superstar from the beginning
Streisand’s success wasn’t just due to her talent and she’s got plenty of that and the awards to prove it. Yet we all know talented people who don’t realize their potential. She always aimed high. “I have never looked for jobs in the chorus,” she says in the book. “Frankly, I don’t think it even occurred to me. Working my way up slowly didn’t figure into my plan.”

• Perfectionism is the path to greatness
Barbara was a relentless perfectionist and no detail was too small. When she appeared on the Ed Sullivan show, the host had pronounced her name as Streis – land before the show. Worried that they might do it again live on air, she called out from backstage, “Streisand like sand on the beach.” Decades later, she called Tim Cook, CEO of Apple to correct Siri who pronounced her name as Strei – zand.

• Have a verbal and visual identity that stands out
Streisand understood that being different is important for a brand. Born Barbara, she had a pretty common name for a girl of her generation She figure]ed that she’s didn’t need the second “a,” so she dispensed with it. There’s only one Barbra and it’s Barbara Streisand. She famously

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Strong visual identities are a quick read. And clothes are one of the quickest ways to communicate a message about who you are. Clothes often offer more insight than your words.

Stylish clothes are a personal branding tool not lost on celebrities, but move over Kardashians, now there’s Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

According to the Wall Street Journal’s “On Trend “column this week, “Before his cleats touch grass on a game day, before he laces them up, Kelce said he takes at least three hours to pick out an outfit for walking into the locker room.” At last year’s Super Bowl, Kelce chose a Louis Vuitton patchwork overcoat. His goal he says is to bring a smile to someone’s face.

Now that he’s dating Taylor Swift, he’s upgrading to a $5 million dollar home in Kansas City. No doubt we can expect a sartorial step-up, too. His wardrobe with its 300 sneakers and scores of outfits, is stashed in a spare bedroom in his current house, but I’m betting his wardrobe is about to undergo the Swift treatment.

Don’t think clothing selection is a superficial thing. I used to think that dressing for success just made a difference in how other people see you. “Clothes make the man,” as Shakespeare says. But clothes can do even more than that, as I cover in my new book, “The New Brand You.”

What you wear can make a difference in job performance. You perform better because you feel more confident and powerful when you feel that you look good. The power of clothes as PR and performance booster seems to be working for Kelce. He is considered to be one of the best tight ends of all time, and he leads his team in receiving yards.

Things are not so happy on the job front these days.

After reaching its highest levels in 2020, employee engagement declined for the second year in a row according to a new Gallup study. Engagement, a key measure of job enthusiasm and involvement, is important because low engagement often results in quiet quiting that fosters employee unhappiness that often leads to job hunting.

Not surprisingly, Gallup’s survey of 60,000 people reported that 57% thought that it is a good time to look for a job.

Better than being a lethargic employee, better to do something about it. Analyze your grievances like better in-office policies and develop your target list.

You’ll also need a good pitch, a focused pitch that will get you noticed. In my new book, The New Brand You: How to Wow in the New World of Work, I outline the Top 10 Personal Positioning Strategies to stand out from competitors.
1. The Innovator: Are you a creative problem solver? Give examples
2. The Leader: Is your strength your ability to lead people and get things done? List key accomplishments
3. The Maverick: Do you have an unconventional approach that produces results? Share the ways.
4. The Superman: What’s the one strength you have in spades? Focus on this one attribute.
5. The Engineer: Are you adept at tweaking and improving things? Share your new processes you set up on the job.
6. The Expert: Are you an expert in one, important area? Focus on it.
7. The Target Marketer: Do you have a strong customer service orientation to one group of customers? Share the advantage in your job
8. The Elitist: Are you among the top tier in your line of work? Play up your elite credentials because not many people can claim them.
9. The Heir: Do you have a unique heritage and connections? Fit them in the interview narrative.
10. The Activists: Is there a special cause that you are passionate about that is important in your industry too? Demonstrate the power of commitment to a cause.

Focus on the best positioning that plays to your strengths and go for it. Imagine your best future with the flexibility, culture and opportunities you crave.

What animal signifies Brand You?

Often in doing a brand assessment, asking focus group participants to identify what animal or car they associate with a brand is more enlightening than traditional analytical methods and questions.

Symbolic associations can be powerful branding. We all know the symbol of the United States, the bald eagle – it conveys power. But the bald eagle was not the only animals our founders considered. Other animal imagery debated was a cow with horns, a goose, a bear and a white-tailed deer. (See Stuart Halpern’s interesting article about the search for a symbol of the United States in the Wall Street Journal: July 1 – 2, 2023.

Even the British got caught up in the branding suggesting a zebra with 13 stripes, each symbolizing a state with Massachusetts strategically placed on the animals behind.

The eagle’s imagery had staying power and strong symbolism with 13 arrows in one claw and an olive branch in the other. Its powerful wings became a stymbol of liberty. Prominent on the eagle’s breast was the motto E pluribus unum Out of many, one.

The bald eagle also satisfied Benjamin Franklin’s desire for a native American bird representing America’s courage in breaking away from Britain.

So what animal represents you best. To find out what animal your strengths are most aligned with, take our animal assessment test https://www.selfbrand.com/tools/animalQuiz.html